The Truth
by pearla914
Summary: This is based off of 'Threads'. Its my version of what should have happened instead of Kerry coming out of Jacks house. Please r&r! COMPLETED unless I decide to do an epilouge...
1. Chapter 1

**This is based off of 'Threads', because it really bugged me that Kerri walked out of Jacks house at that moment that she did. So, I had to write an alternate scene. Please read and review!**

**Please let me know if you think I should continue this. I am currently working on two other fics at the moment, but this one I really want to continue with the soonest.**

**By the way, the scene where Sam broke up with Pete happened BEFORE the scene where this starts. This is the scene where Sam goes into Jacks backyard.**

**Disclaimer-I do not own any of this.**

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"Pete put a down payment on a house," she paused. Only to look into his eyes. To see his reaction. Hoping that he would say something to her. About how she was meant for him, not Pete. She stared into his eyes, as she had many times before, but this time was different. This time she wanted the truth to come out-even if it meant losing her job.

"Well that's great!" Jack said, glancing nervously at his house for a second. It went unnoticed by Sam, as she wasn't paying any attention to anything other than the words coming out of her mouth, and his response to them.

"It's a beautiful house."

"But?"

"Its just…not right."

Jack stared at her thoughtfully. His deep, dark, brown eyes filled with curiosity, hoping Miss Johnson wouldn't come out of his house, and wondering why the person he truly loves, Sam, was torturing him about how she was getting married - to someone who wasn't himself.

"What's wrong with it? Termites? Or those bugs from P4X-723?" Jack said giving her one of those smiles. His sarcasm made Sam smile, laugh even, but it made it worse for her. He wasn't taking this seriously. Not that he truly new what she wanted to say. He knew what _he_ wanted her to say, however. It was getting harder for her to make eye contact, and while this was unusual for her, she was facing her fears. She had waited for this moment for eight years. She wanted to come clean. To actually say it out loud. To admit it to him. To admit it to herself.

"No, sir." She managed to make eye contact before she said this but at the word 'sir', she looked down. Her eyes glazed over as she took a deep breath. "Its just that, there's something missing. Something that I don't think I could live without."

She paused, again looking up at him. Jack was going to make a joke here, but the seriousness in her face, and the glaze over her electric blue eyes caused him to think twice. To stop for a minute. Those eyes, he loved those eyes. He could look into them forever. He wanted them to be the first thing he saw during the day, and the last thing at night. On certain days he noticed that her eyes would be light, and natural looking. But on other days, her eyes turned stunningly bright, yet elegant, as beautiful as the event horizon of a bright blue wormhole. This was one of those days. "What it is, Carter? What's missing?"

"I broke it off with Pete because I didn't want to live a lie. I mean, I love Pete, but its not what I want. HES not what I want. And as much as I try to ignore it, I can't. And the more I try to remember that it can never happen, the more I think about it…the more I try to work it out in my head."

"Carter, what's missing?" Jack asked.

The stubbornness in Sam came out at this moment as she ignored his question. She wasn't ready to answer it. Not yet.

"And when I told Pete, he understood. He wasn't happy about it, but he understood. He said that he knew it. He _knew_ it. He knew it all along. He knew it was coming. He knew it was going to happen."

"He knew what Carter?"

"He said, that he always saw it there. But when I told him 'yes', he thought that I had finally let go. That when I told him 'yes', it was forever."

"Carter!" Jack practically yelled. This only made Sam speak a little louder.

"I know that it's not aloud, but at the same time, I can't help but remembering how we've seen it before."

"Carter!" Jack said, again. "What's missing? What does Pete know?"

Sam looked up, a look of defeat on her face. She knew very well that she had nothing left to say, except the words to fill in the blanks. She knew that it was now or never. She looked around nervously before returning her gaze to Jack.

"Pete even bought a house that I described to him as my perfect house. But its missing…" She paused, then tried to gain the confidence to start over again.

"Yes, Carter?"

"It's not right because…it's missing you." Sam managed to say.

Jack looked at her. He wasn't sure if this was real or not. He was searching for the right words. She knew he didn't know what to say.

"Its OK," she said. "You don't have to say anything." She turned to leave, but Jack walked over to where she had been standing and took her by the arm.

"Sam," he said, "You know I care about you. I told you that. Four years ago. Remember? When those Tok'ra thought we were Zatarcs?" Jack had let go of her arm by now. He knew that she wasn't going anywhere. Not now.

"I didn't think you still-" She was cut off by Jack.

"I always have and I always will." Jack put his hands on her arms and gently kissed her on the forehead. He held her in his arms, and she held him too. She had never thought that this was how everything would fall out. She had hoped for it of course, but she never thought that it would actually happen. "I love you, Sam." He whispered.

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Kerry Johnson was on the second floor of Jacks house. Her eyes gazed down onto Jack holding Sam. She knew that Sam and Jack were meant for each other. Anyone who has seen the two of them together knows that. Kerry knew very well that Jack loved her, but Sam was there. She wasn't mad, or jealous, she knew that Jack and Sam loved each other, and as much as it pained her to say it, she was OK with that. And if she wasn't? Oh, well. Because she was going to have to be OK with that. Plus, she wanted Jack to be happy, because, well, that's what people who are in love do, right? 

Kerry sat on Jacks bedroom window seat, calmly sitting and waiting. Kerry had noticed Sam's arrival through the kitchen window. She had decided to leave them alone. To let them be.

She realized, of course, that SHE was the one dating Jack. But Sam was getting married, and if she needed to talk to Jack, Kerry would let her. It's perfectly understandable for her to want to talk to Jack. She could tell him anything, and Jack would listen. Kerry knew that. After all, Sam went on the field with him all the time. They trusted each other with their lives.

At this point she figured that there was no use in staying around. Whatever they were talking about out there, Jack was going to need some time to think about it. She went to the nightstand next to Jacks bed and went into the draw. She took out a pen and a piece of scrap paper and took it over to the window seat. She sat down and began to write.

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"I love you too, si-" 

"Jack." Jack corrected, cutting her off in the process.

"I love you too, Jack." Sam said as she smiled sweetly.

It was unusual for her to call him by his first name. But he liked. And so did she. She had called him by his first name before. But only on certain occasions, like when they were close to death. He always knew when she finally decided that nothing she could do would help them when she called him 'Jack'. He remembered back to when they thought they were going to die stranded on an ice planet, which ended up being Antarctica. He remembered her determination, but she was unable to get them home. This wasn't her fault, of course, as they had been on earth all along. He remembered her saying goodbye to him. He remembered she called him Jack.

Jack looked down into her eyes. He forgot about Kerry for a minute. He was too focused on Sam. He pulled Sam close to him and closed his eyes. His eyes suddenly shot open as he remembered Kerry. She was supposed to of come out a while before. Suddenly a bunch of thoughts ran through his head. Things like 'what happened to her?' and 'Did she see me and Sam and leave. Was she mad about it?' Jack stopped for a minute. He kissed Sam on the forehead again and then looked her in the eye. "I have to go inside for a second but you can come with me if you want to." Of course he didn't exactly want Sam to come inside because, what if Kerry was still in there?

Sam nodded to Jack and let go. She followed him inside, not suspecting anything as Jack had hoped.

When Jack entered his house he walked over to the counter to put down the beer bottle that he was still holding onto. Next to where he put the beer bottle he looked down. Attached to the side of the counter was a piece of paper held onto by tape. Jack unstuck the paper and read it. He smiled, not one of his huge smiles, or his sneaky smiles, but one of those 'well that's a relief' smiles. He placed the paper in a draw in the kitchen and turned to Sam, who had been to busy looking around thinking about what just happened to notice what Jack had been doing.

"I forgot what I came in here for." Jack said with a straight face. Sam turned to look at him and laughed. That was another thing Jack loved about her. Her laugh. She always laughed at his jokes. No matter how stupid they were, no matter what they were about. Heck, this wasn't even a joke and she was laughing about it. But he didn't mind that she was laughing. He loved her laugh. He didn't care what she was laughing about, as long as she was happy.

Jack went over to Sam and looked into her smiling face. Gazed into her eyes. He pulled her into a hug. They knew each other's feelings now, but currently, they still couldn't act on them. They were still in the Air Force, and they were still military personnel in the Stargate program. It was just nice to know. He pulled back, and was about to say something, but her phone rang.

"Carter…What? When?…OK, I'm on my way." Sam hung up her phone and looked at Jack. "I have to go. Uh, its my dad." Sam turned to leave but Jack followed her.

"I'm coming with you." Jack said.

They got into the car and headed towards the SGC.

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**Please review! I don't mind negative comments! I want to improve my writing so negative comments are helpful too! Let me know if you think I should continue this!**


	2. Chapter 2

**Thank you for all of your kind reviews. I'm glad you liked it!**

**Sorry it took a while but homework must come first, and plus I had a few busy weekends and I have had after school meetings, and its just been crazy, and I didn't want to post this until I thought it sounded good. I also wanted to have all of these scenes in one chapter, because I didn't like how I thought it would sound without any of these scenes in the same chapter. **

**Aussie73-I did not answer your questions in this chapter, but I should be answering them in the next chapter! **

**Disclaimer- I do not own any of this!**

**By the way, the second scene is the scene where Jacob is telling Sam that he is dieing, and the third one starts in the middle of the original scene where Sam is talking to her father about whether or not she is happy. In other words, the dialog didn't change from the show (except for the last line), but I started the scene from the middle. Just wanted to make sure you knew that.**

**Please review!**

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The drive to the SGC was awkward. Silence filled the car. The radio was off and there was no c.d. in the c.d. player.

Sam's eyes were glazed over. She was focused, not on the road, however. Her eyebrows were lowered and her eyes were a little shifty. She was holding back tears, and Jack knew it. He knew her all to well. Although, at times, he thought that he didn't know her well enough. She always managed to surprise him.

The look she was giving now was like the times when Daniel had gone missing. When she thought she had lost her second brother.

Jack looked over to her. He saw her pretend to focus on the road, but he knew it was Jacob she was worried about.

Jacob had always approved of him. There was, of course, the occasional look of, "your stupid" that he tried to hide, or the "Stop joking around" look that Jack always tried to get him to make. Sam always seemed to laugh especially at those jokes.

Suddenly the car turned, and they pulled into the parking lot and entered the SGC.

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From the observation room, Jack watched Sam enter the isolation room where Jacob was being taken care of in. He watched her sit down and talk to Jacob. 

Something had to be wrong. It was obvious that there was, but Jack still had to say it to himself. Jack couldn't help thinking '_what could be wrong?"_ as he thought about the fact that Jacob had Selmac in him. Selmac should be able to cure Jacob, right? That could be the only reason why Jacob would be in there.

"_Unless…no, it can't be. I'd rather not think about that…"_ Jack thought. He expected the worst, but he'd rather not even take it into consideration. He didn't even want to consider what he was thinking as a possibility.

Realizing that he was alone in the observation room, Jack turned his gaze to Sam. The woman who he was in love with, who had just admitted her feelings for him. He would have let out one of his 'sneaky' smiles if it weren't for the increasingly saddened look on Sams face.

He felt horrible as he thought about the emotional roller coaster that she must be going through. Her break up with Pete, her admitting her feelings to him, and now, whatever was wrong with her father. All in a day or two.

'_She can pull through this,' _he thought. That was another thing that he loved about her. She was such a strong person. Physically and mentally. Times got tough, he did have to admit. But she was one heck of a strong person to deal with them. Some of those missions they had taken, had pushed her to the limits. Pushed her mind to the extremes.

Jack sat back and thought about Fifth. He had put Sam through so much. Jack couldn't help but feel responsible for that. He was the one who gave Sam the order to change the timer from 5 minutes to 3 minutes. If he hadn't of done that, Fifth wouldn't of captured Sam, replicated her, gone into her mind, and put her in a dream world.

With Pete.

Of course, it was really Fifth disguised as Pete, but it was still Pete.

He didn't want to think about that either.

But the thing was, he kept coming back to it. He couldn't help but think that if it weren't for Pete, Sam might not have come to his house and told him that she loved him. She might never have had a reason to.

"_Back to that, 'fork in the road' stuff._" Jack thought.

Jack looked back to Sam. She was crying, and it broke Jacks heart to see it.

Jack had rarely seen her cry. Besides the days where Daniel was missing, of course. Or when Janet died, or when she thought Jack died on the field right after Janet died, but all were completely understandable for anyone.

Jack decided not to get all technical about it, mentioning to himself any other times she had a tear.

He watched as Sam leaned over her father and kissed him on the forehead. She said something to him and then left the room.

Jack looked over to Jacob who was watching Sam leave. When she had completely left the room, Jacob looked into the observation room.

He looked right at Jack.

Right into his eyes.

It was like Jacob had been looking at Jack the whole time.

Jacob looked at Jack for a few seconds and then lowered his eyes, gave one of those looks he always seemed to give Jack, and then nodded his head slightly.

Jacks eyebrows lowered in confusion. He got up, still confused, and left the observation room.

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" I just wanna know you're gonna be happy." Jacob said, looking into Sams eyes. His hand clutched Sams hand. 

"I am." Sam said, trying to sound convincing. Jacob new her to well to know that this couldn't be true.

He knew she loved Jack. She hadn't told him that she told Jack, however.

So it was true. She really wasn't happy. She knew that. But there was no way she could get what she wanted. She could resign. But she knew all to well that she was too important to the SGC.

And she wouldn't make Jack resign. She couldn't do that to him. She knew that he loved her still and that was enough.

For now.

Well, what else could she do?

She knew where she belonged now. Not with Pete. Not with any one. Anyone except Jack. She had taken a big step. She knew where she was meant to be. She was meant for Jack, and Jack was meant for her. She knew that now, and she would never for get it.

And if she had to wait for him, she would.

"Don't let rules stand in your way." Jacob said, still looking into Sams eyes. He knew she knew what he was talking about. She had to. She did. It was another thing, however, to get her to admit it.

Sam looked at him, puzzled. Deep down she hoped it was Jack he was referring to "_Couldn't be_," she told herself.

"What are you talking about?" She asked innocently, but convincingly.

"You joined the Air Force because of me." Jacob tried to get Sam to see what he was talking about without telling her. It frustrated him. She HAD to know what he was talking about. He didn't see how she couldn't.

Well, maybe he was being too vague. But he was in the military too, and besides that, he didn't want to be the one to tell her that she should be with Jack. Even though he, as did everyone else, knew that Sam and Jack belonged together.

" I love my job." Sam said. She did. It was true. There was no denying it. Not that there would be anything to deny about whether or not she liked it.

" Mmm. You can still have everything you want." Jacob said, in one last effort to get her to realize what he was talking about.

" I do, Dad. Really." She said. She wouldn't admit to herself that Jack had to be what her father was referring to.

Jacob sighed, with frustration. She either didn't understand what he was talking about, or refused to. It was her stubbornness coming out again.

She took his hand again and squeezed it. She kissed him on the cheek and said, "I love you. I will come back later. Goodbye" before she left the room again.

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Jack had been sitting in his office for over an hour. A stack of paperwork stood on his desk, and a pen was in his hand, but since he had entered the room, not one drop of ink had touched the paper. 

He was too lost in thought. Not that he _wanted _to do paperwork in the first place. He always managed to make up an excuse. He always seemed to get out of it.

A knock at his startled him and when he looked up he was even more surprised to see Kerry. She had a nervous look on her face as she entered the room.

"How's Colonel Carter's father?"

"Doesn't look good," Jack said, realizing that _Kerry_ was in his office. He felt nervous all of a sudden. He didn't know what she wanted, but he couldn't help but remember the note she had written him. The note that was still in his kitchen draw.

"Sorry to hear that," she closed the door and slowly turned around. She turned so slowly that it was almost like she was forcing herself to turn around. Like she didn't want to, but at the same time she knew that she had to.

"Closing the door, " Jack said, waiting until she was turned around most of the way.

"Yeah," she said, a little nervous, yet somehow confident at the same time. She knew what she wanted to say, which gave her the confidence, it was saying it that took her down. "Deeply symbolic."

"Really?" Jack asked her, half sarcastic.

" You never called me," she paused. "…so I assume that you got my letter."

"Yes. Thank you." He said, starting loud, ending in almost a whisper.

"_Thank _me? There's no need to thank me!" Jack looked at her puzzled, while she let out a shy smile. Her eyes glazed over and she began to explain.

"I know about your feelings for her. I'm not blind to it."

She paused for second.

Almost like she expected to say something.

But then he didn't say a word, and so she continued. "I really like you. We're good together."

"Yes. We are. But?" said Jack, standing up as she said it.

"You have issues. It's OK -- we all do. There's just one big one in particular that I don't think I can love with."

Jack raised his eyebrows, only half surprised that she said that, for some reason.

It only took Kerry a second to realize what she had said, and then correct herself.

"Live with. I need to get out before I get more involved. We can still work together, can't we? I'd hate to have to ask for reassignment. This is really important to me. We agreed this would never affect the job."

"We did." Jack said, slowly and carefully. He didn't know whether he should be happy or sad about what she was telling him.

"Good." She smiled at him before walking to the door, and carefully opening it. She stopped in her tracks, halfway out the door. She quickly turned around, putting her hands on her hips, and quickly began to speak. "You know, there's just one thing I don't understand."

"Just one?" Jack raised his eyebrows again.

"Is the Air Force the only thing keeping you two apart? Rules and regulations? Cos if it is, you're making a very big mistake."

His form dropped at this. His eyebrows lowered, he wasn't upright anymore, and he knew exactly what she was talking about. There was no denying it.

"And you know what I should do?"

"Retire."

"Again."

"Don't get me wrong -- you are considered invaluable to the programme by the Pentagon, but the President has appointed a civilian to run the S.G.C. before." Jack nodded to her in agreement. " Just a thought."

She left the room, closing the door.

Jack sat back in his chair and fiddled with pen he was now holding onto between his fingers again.

Now he was never going to any work done. He had a lot to think about.

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A few Tok'ra were visiting Jacob when Sam entered the Observation Room.

Any minute now Jacob going to die, and Sam new it.

Tears came to her eyes with good reason. A tear streamed down her face, leaving her face wet. She didn't even bother to wipe it away.

She was looking at her father for a while, her face damp from tears, her eyes puffy and red, her mind spinning.

She looked away for a moment.

The Observation Room door squeaked open and Sam wiped her face with her sleeve to see who it was.

She looked over to see Jack standing there. He was looking at Jacob, but her then looked back at Sam.

"You OK?" Jack noticed her eyes were puffy. He knew she had been crying, but her face appeared dry.

"Actually, I'm fine. Good, even, strange as that sounds." Sam stopped speaking for a moment, and then continued, explaining what she meant. "I thought I lost him four years ago. Since then, we've been closer than we ever were in my whole life. In a way, Selmak gave me the father I never thought I'd know."

"C'me here." He put his arm around her shoulder. She took his hand and rested her head on his shoulder. They sat looking at Jacob for a moment, but then she turned to him to say something.

"Thank you, sir."

"For what?" Jack said, in almost a whisper.

"For being here for me." Sam said, in almost the same whispered voice.

"Always," Jack said, quietly again, but with a force at the same time. His tone seemed to show Sam that he really meant it. That he wasn't just saying it to say it. That he was _always_ going to be there for her. And also that he _always_ had.

Sam looked at Jack one more time before resting her head on his hand, and looking at her father.

Jacob was talking to the Tok'ra who were standing by the side of his bed. He was obviously having trouble speaking. He had become so weak.

Through the glass of the Observation Room, Sam could see her father mouth the words 'I'm ready'.

The Tok'ra standing by Jacobs's bed put his hand on Jacobs shoulder. He nodded to Jacob, and then looked up to Sam in the Observation Room.

She knew what this meant.

It was time to say goodbye.

Forever, this time.

Sam went to Jacob's bedside, taking his hand for what could be the last time. She kissed him on the forehead. He opened his eyes and looked at Sam.

"I love you." Jacob said. He closed his eyes.

Sam knew that he was dead now. There was nothing left to do.

Right now she didn't want to think about anything. Anything except her father. How close she had come with him. How well she knew him now.

She shut her eyes in grief, not allowing tears to escape her eyes.

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Back in the Observation Room, Jack looked down at Sam and Jacob. 

He wished he could do something about her father.

Anything.

But there was nothing that he could do. He was going to have to live with that.

He left the Observation Room, letting Sam be alone.

She knew that if she wanted to talk to someone she could always talk to him.

Until then? He was going to _attempt_ tackle that pile of paperwork in his office.

'_Attempt'_ he thought.

'Attempt' being the key word here…

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**Please let me know what you think and if you think I should continue! **

**Thanks again for all your reviews for the first chapter!**


	3. Chapter 3

**Thank you DragonChaos, ScienceGeek, Sci Fi Fan Gillian, Janissima, SG-Fan, Chocobell, and Natters for your reviews!**

**Also, sorry for the last chapter being mostly scripted, but I wanted to make it clear that those scenes from the show still happened, and also that they remained, for the most part, the same. This chapter is not from the show, I just needed those scenes to get here.**

**Please read and review!**

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Sam gazed at the computer screen in front of her. She looked concentrated on what she was working on.

Another 'key' word there. Looked.

She wasn't really paying attention to the mission report she was supposed to be reading, but instead her mind was drifting off to other places.

The biggest thing on her mind right now was her fathers' death. She couldn't believe that he had really died. It hadn't clicked with her yet. She knew that he was dead, but at the same time, she felt like he was alive. It would take a while before she realized that he was dead, and he was never coming back.

Her mixed emotions over her fathers' death confused her. She was fine with his death, as she had said, he was supposed to have died four years ago, but now she knew him better than ever.

She had gone to Marks house to tell him about their father. She wasn't sure how to explain to him that she had been there when Jacob had died, and that there was nothing she could do about Mark not being able to come to the base.

He didn't take it well. A few years ago it might not have affected him much, or maybe it would have affected him more.

Still staring at the computer screen, Sam thought back to when she had gotten her father and brother to talk again.

If she hadn't have done that, Mark might not have made up with Jacob, and when he found out about his death, Mark might have regretted not speaking to him.

Her father was a great person. He was kind and always wanted Sam to have what she wanted. She was thankful for that.

It reminded her of one of her visits to see her father before he died. Just before the last Tok'ra came to see him, she went to talk to him one last time.

_Flashback_

"Hi, Dad" Sam looked at her father sadly. Her blue eyes sparkled with tears, and the dark circles under her eyes showed that she had not slept for a while.

"Hi, Sam" Jacob said to her, weakly and sore sounding. "What's wrong?"

"Dad? You're dieing. What, did you expect me to be happy or something?"

"No. But I don't think that my condition is the only thing that you are upset about right now."

"Its just that there is a lot on my mind. You, Daniel missing again, Pete."

"What about Pete?" Jacob said, hoping it was what he had been hoping for a long time. That she had admitted to someone that she loves Jack, and so she dumped Pete.

"Nothing. Its just…" She paused. She wasn't sure if she really wanted to talk to her father about this.

"Yes?" Her father said patiently. He had waited this long, and he could wait a few more seconds.

"I broke up with Pete."

"Oh. I thought that you loved him. Why did you break up?" Jacob said. He sounded dry, with a little happiness in there somewhere. A small smirk crossed his face. It was kind of like the look he gave when he gated back to earth and saw his daughter.

"It just wasn't right anymore. Right now I can't deal with it. There's just too much on my mind right now."

"Are you sure that's all?" There he was. Hinting at her again. Jacob couldn't help but wonder if she was going to get the message this time.

"Yeah." She said. Jacob knew that she wasn't telling him the truth. He could see it in her eyes.

"OK" he said.

There was a knock at the door, and the Tok'ra entered the room.

_End Flashback_

She realized that she never had told her father that she went to Jacks house. She didn't know what he would think of it, and she wasn't sure if she wanted him to know.

She thought back to when she had gone to Jacks house. She knew that he loved her, and he knew that she loved him back.

She recalled the moments before her fathers' death when she was sitting next to Jack.

"_Always_"

That word rang through her ears. The look in his eyes was still fresh in her memory. She felt like she was still there. It was one of her memories that she knew would never go away.

There was another thing she had talked to her father about. Daniel. She remembered her talking to Jacob about Daniel.

She missed Daniel. She had lost him so many times, and now she had lost him and her father.

Realizing that she was still in front of her computer, she drew her eyes away from the screen.

Her eyes fell on a mirror that came from some planet some other team had visited. It came from Daniels office, and he had brought it there to show her something about it, but she couldn't remember what he had said. They were both called to the gateroom, and he had to leave it there.

She looked into the mirror briefly and noticed that she had been unknowingly crying. She wiped the tears from her face and looked back at the computer screen to try and read the report.

Three sentences in and she was interrupted by a knock at the door.

"Come in," she said, and she turned around to see who was at her door.

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Jack entered his house and threw his keys on the table next to the door. He took his jacket off and threw it on the table next to his keys.

He went into the kitchen and grabbed a beer out of the refrigerator.

He went into the living room and switched on the TV. He put in a 'Simpsons' tape he recorded from the night before and sat down on his couch.

He wasn't even paying attention to it. He stared at the screen, focused, but not really.

Yeah, sure, he "looked" focused, but he wasn't.

Key word there. Looked.

He thought about Kerry. She put him in such an awkward position.

Its not that he didn't like thinking about being with Sam, he just didn't like to be _told_ to think about.

Then again, it wasn't like he had ever been told to think about it before.

He thought about all the long, boring, briefings he had gone to. Whenever Sam was briefing SG-1 and General Hammond, he didn't mind listening to her.

But then Daniel would stand up and start talking about ancient cultures, and artifacts, and all that "blah-blah-blah" that went through Jacks mind when Daniel spoke.

He would always stare into outer space thinking of her and doodling on his little notepad.

He never really drew things on his notepads. At least nothing specific. Little shapes lined the margins of the page, but no words filled the spaces between the lines.

Jack blinked as he realized that he was now watching the ending credits of the Simpsons. He didn't even realize that he had sat through the whole episode, or that he had finished his beer.

He sat back on the couch, thinking some more. Wondering how he had started this whole domino effect of thoughts, he finally managed to trace it all back to Kerry.

"_Kerry…Kerry…_" He thought. He started to think of her again, and then he remembered the note she had left him.

He got up and went into the kitchen. When he reached the counter he opened the draw that he had put the note into. He took out the note and sat in a chair to read it again. Thinking about what it said, Jack decided that he needed to do something…_anything_.

He himself knew little of what he was talking about.

He read the note countless times.

He wanted to tell Sam. He had told her he loved her, but there was something else.

He wanted to tell her about Kerry.

He had felt guilty about how she had been in his house when Sam arrived. Her narrow escape made things OK for a little while, but now he wanted to tell Sam. He wanted to be honest with her.

He had no idea what he was going to do or what would happen next, but he folded the note, put it in his pocket, grabbed his keys and his coat and drove away.

Sorry that this one has a very small amount of dialog, but the next chapter will have mostly dialog in it.

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**Thanks again for your reviews for the previous chapter.  
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**Please review!**

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	4. Chapter 4

­­­­­­­­­­­­**Thanks again for your reviews!**

**Again, I am sorry that the last chapter had very little dialog, but this one has lots of it to make up for the last one!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own any of this!**

**Please review!

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**

Sam watched the door as the door handle turned and the door swung open.

"Hey," the figure in the door said as he moved closer into the light of the computer screen, as there were no main lights on, only the lamp in the corner of the room.

"Hello, Sir," Sam said as she gave a small smile to her commanding officer.

"Why is it so dark in here, Carter?"

"Oh, sorry, Sir" Sam said, getting up and turning on the lights as she did. When the lights came on she had to blink a few times to adjust her eyes to the light.

She sat back down her chair as Jack spoke.

"Don't be sorry." Jack began tapping his fingers on the corner of her desk.

"So…"

"So." Jack said. Sam kind of looked at him questioningly.

Looking at the clock on the computer screen she saw that it was 12:30 a.m. She couldn't help but wonder what Jack could possibly want at that hour of the night. Normally he would have gone home a few hours ago.

"Don't you ever go home, Carter?"

"Yes," she said, a full smile now crossed her face. Her eyes twinkled a little. He always asked her about that. She was always working on some project or another, and she normally had nothing better to do than to finish it. So, sometimes she would stay on base all night long if she could, just to make sure the project or whatever it was she had been working on, was done. "But, you can't accuse me of staying late, Sir."

"Oh yeah? Why not?"

"Well, you're here aren't you?" She was still smiling as she said this.

Jack hadn't really thought of this. His eyebrows raised and he pointed a finger slightly at her saying, "You're good."

Sam laughed, sitting back in her chair a little.

"Sir, if you don't mind my asking, what are you doing here? Because I'm guessing that it's not just to tell me that I stay on base too late and I need to turn my light on."

Sam was just now noticing the civilian clothing Jack had on, and he looked down to see what she was looking at.

"I came from home,' he said, raising his eyebrows again as he did.

"Oh. Then I guess I should be asking why you came back?"

Jack put his hand in his pocket as a natural habit, and felt the note touch his fingers.

"Oh, I, um…I left something in my office."

"Oh, OK. Although, I do have to admit, that I thought the only thing you had in there was a pen full of ink and a pile of untouched paper work." He laughed at this.

"Well, I left something in the draw, and I was on my way to my office when I saw the light coming from your office and I wanted to stop by to say 'hi'." Jack said, almost proudly.

"What, did you leave your doodle book in there?"

"No! Of course not! As a matter of fact, I remembered to take that home with me today. I left my mini etcher sketcher in there."

"Oh," Sam said, a smile on her face.

There were a few moments of silence before Jacks hand went back into his pocket. Fiddling with the note he began to speak, "How are you doing with all of this?"

Sam looked at him, her eyebrows lowered. "What do you mean, 'all of this'?"

"Well, for one, your father. Then of course there's Daniel, and-"

"Pete" she interrupted.

Jack didn't say anything. He wasn't sure that if he had kept speaking he would have said 'Pete'. He had no idea what would have come out of his mouth.

He wanted to wait for her to say something. Anything.

Sam lost eye contact with Jack at this point.

She wanted to wait for him to say something. Anything.

She eventually decided, however, that since she had interrupted Jack by saying 'Pete', she should probably say something.

"I'm sorry."

"Stop apologizing, Carter." Jack said in a hushed voice. He looked around the room a little, before returning his gaze to Sam. "There's no need to be sorry," Jack continued.

"Its just, I thought I was happy. I thought that Pate was…" she was searching for words. "I mean…I'm just glad I didn't make the mistake I almost did."

"Yeah, well." There was an awkward moment in the room. "Thanks, by the way."

"For what?" Sam said, right now not willing to make eye contact.

"For coming to my house, and for being honest with me."

"Oh. That."

"I wasn't going to bring it up, but there's something that I think you should know."

"Yeah? What?" she said, curiously.

"Um…well," he cleared his throat, "You know how I feel about you, but the thing is, is that Kerry, that day in my yard, she was in my house." He paused for a second. He wasn't sure what kind of reaction he would get out of all this in the end. That's why he didn't want to tell her. "She was there because we _were_ dating."

"Were?"

"Well, you see, she saw you through the window and left." He was rushing through his words a little. "She knew that I have feelings for you," he sort of whispered at this point, but then got louder, "just like Pete knew about yours, I guess."

Sam just looked at Jack, a little confused, not having any idea what to say. She blinked, realizing she was staring at him, and then looked away.

She looked back up at him. Up into his eyes.

Her features were different. The twinkle in her eyes was gone. The pink in her cheeks was now gone. Her once electric blue eyes had suddenly turned a grayish blue color, almost as if showing her emotions.

Jack also had no idea what to say.

The color was slowly returning to her face as she spoke. "OK, so…" She was still at a loss for words.

"Here" Jack said. He pulled the note out of his pocket and handed it to her.

She read it slowly, her eyes moved back and fourth as she read each line more than once, taking it all in. Sometimes while reading it, her eyes grew wide, and she smiled, taking in one line at a time.

It was a poem, written to Jack, from Kerry.

"Wow." Sam said, after taking in a deep breath. Her eyebrows went up as she re-read the note again. "Wow." She said again, as she looked back into Jacks eyes.

"I just thought that you should know."

"Why?"

"I started dating Kerry a little after I found out you were engaged. I thought that you were going to go through with it, and even though I knew I couldn't, I would have to accept the fact that we could never be together, and that I would have to move on. But now that your not engaged anymore, I thought that you should know that I can't care about anyone the way I care for you. I can't now, and I won't ever be able to. I know that for sure now. I never doubted it for a minute."

Sam's eyes were glazed over as she listened to what Jack was saying. A tear drop rolled down her cheek.

"Me too." She spoke softly, her voice weakening into a whisper.

Jack moved closer to her and wiped the tear away with his thumb.

"C'mere" he said, pulling her into a hug.

He pulled away after a minute. "It will all work out in the end, Sam. Someday. I promise."

He looked into her eyes, and she looked into his.

There was an echo of silence in the room.

Sometimes silence does more than words, and this was one of those times.

The comforting side of Jack had come forth. His military background was completely shed at this point, and he only left the part that cared for Sam. The part that wanted her to know that everything was going to be ok.

"You gonna be ok?" He spoke softly still.

"Yeah" she mouthed.

"OK. And Carter?" he said, leaving the room as he did, "Go home!"

She smiled and let out a small laugh.

A few minutes later she turned off the computer, and taking Jacks advice, left the SGC.

"_Always. Someday. I promise._"

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**Please review, I really appreciate the time you take to read my story and the reviews you send me. Thank you!**

**There is still another chapter or two left to this, so let me know if you think that I should continue this!**


	5. Chapter 5

**Sorry that this has taken so long to continue…I could have sworn I posted it when I posted a chapter for my other story! Sorry about that!**

**This is the last chapter, but there is one more 'chapter' that I am going to submit under this story. That chapter will be the note that was left from Kerry to Jack.**

**Also, sorry that its so short, but I didn't think that this chapter needed to be to long, otherwise I felt that it would be to dragged out.**

**Thank you to everyone who has read my story and reviewed!**

**Please review!

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**

The car ride home was a long, lonesome one. The whole of her conversation with Jack was still lingering in her thoughts.

Her thoughts continued as she neared her house. She thought about all of the times she had been with Jack.

The first time they met in the briefing room before going on the mission to Abydos; when they were in Antarctica, and thought they were on another planet; when he wouldn't leave her on Apophis' ship when their armbands had fallen off; when he had to admit he 'cares about her a lot more than he's supposed to' or else they would think him to be a Zatarc; when he so-freely admitted he had feelings for her when they lost their memories, and were mining on an ice planet.

She couldn't even remember when she first realized that she loved him.

Up until now she realized that she had never said that she loved Jack out loud. Except when she was alone on Prometheus, and admitted to herself she loved him; when Jack had been standing in front of her, no more than a figment of her imagination. When Jack had been captured by Ba'al, she thought she might have lost him forever.

When she got to her house she went inside and sat on the window seat.

She continued her thoughts.

At least he knew. He knew that she loved him, and she knew he loved her.

She wasn't going to worry about it any more. It wasn't like these thoughts weren't going to cross her mind again. It was just that for now her and Jack weren't going to be together.

She could live with that. She could live with that for a while.

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Jack pulled up to his house and went inside. He got another beer out of the fridge and laid down on the couch.

He stared at the ceiling. He sipped his beer as he too thought about the previous days. He thought about how much he went against regulations the past few days. Admitting that he was in love with his second in command.

No one could know.

At least he knew. Him and Sam. It made him feel better to know that.

He was fine with things the way they were. He wanted to be with Sam, but at this point at least he was one step closer to knowing that one day they could be together-and that was good for him.

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At least they knew. It was much better than living out their lives day to day, not knowing…always wondering.

Whether they would end up together in 'the end' or not…well…there was no telling.

It wasn't a matter of whether they cared more about their jobs than each other. They definitely cared more about each other than their jobs.

It was more of whether or not _they_ were important. They were important to their jobs. They were important to the world. The world is a big responsibility. One that they held.

Someday, they would be together. Maybe not today, or tomorrow, but someday. And just knowing that was good enough for them.

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**I'm sorry again that this is so short and that it took so long! I hope you liked reading this story, I know that I had fun writing it. Thanks again for all of your reviews!**


	6. The Letter, and then some

Well…here it is. The end. This is plain and simply the note/poem left by Kerry to Jack.

**Thanks again to everyone who reviewed!**

It had been a few weeks since he had gone to Sams office and told her to go home.

He had thought about it a lot, he tried not to, but he did; the letter is what I am referring to now.

Today had been very stressful…more like this past week. Jack had gone through a lot…he was in the infirmary for three days. The mission he had gone through was…scary, even for Jack.

When he got home, all he wanted to do was to eat, drink, and then sleep.

He was so tired…going for a spoon, he accidentally opened the wrong draw; the one with the letter.

Jack looked down, and raised an eyebrow. He had tried to forget…he REALLY did…but nothing worked.

He picked up the letter and opened it. He carefully read it, as if he was reading it for the first time.

Jack couldn't help but think, "_Why am I even reading this…when I have been trying so hard to forget?_"

Maybe the reason Jack read it was because deep down he didn't want to forget…he wanted to remember…remember that he had dated someone just to prove to himself that he could move on from Sam…that if she was with someone else, then maybe she really wasn't meant for him, and that he COULD be with someone else…but he had spent the last eight years of his life wanting to be with her. Sure there was the occasional alien 'girlfriend', but he had always liked-_ LOVED_ –Sam.

He read the note one more time before placing it back in the draw and heading upstairs to bed, forgetting the hot meal he had made that was sitting on the table and forgetting that he had ever dated Kerry.

_Jack-_

I close my eyes And see your face 

_I feel the warmth of your embrace_

But none of that mattered anymore 

_Once I saw her from the door_

_I want you to know that it's ok_

_That you've loved her everyday_

_That we've been together and since before_

_Then, now, and forever more_

_-Love,_

_Kerry_

_You will always have a place in my heart_

_You always have, from the start_

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The End… 

…**I know that the poem is a little corny, but hey, I tried, lol.**

**Thanks again for reading this…and thanks again for all of the reviews!**


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